I just got greeted by the new EULA and it makes me very unhappy. In this age where we are constantly being tracked and spied upon, you are joining the ranks of those who claim to act in my interest but who don’t. If you are not incredibly precise, I’m just going to assume the worst. I’m going to assume that you are going to use the broadest interpretation possible, store all data possible, and lose it or abuse it eventually, like so many other companies, despite your best efforts right now. You know the stories in the news.

I just want an app to read and annotate PDF files. I don’t want this:

“2. Consent to Use of Data: You agree that Licensor may collect and use technical data and related information, including but not limited to technical information about your device, system and application software, and peripherals—that is gathered periodically to facilitate the provision of software updates, product support, and other services to you (if any) related to the Licensed Application. Licensor may use this information, as long as it is in a form that does not personally identify you, to improve its products or to provide services or technologies to you. In some cases, your personal information, including but not limited to e-mail address, may be required to provide certain additional services. In such cases, the Licensor may use this information and store it on its servers to facilitate the delivery of requested services.”

My system? My application software? Which ones? Peripherals? Where does that end? Periodically, even if I have no problems? Other services? Like what? Not limited to my email address? Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Accordingly, I grind my teeth and accept this, hating the app and the company, for forcing this on me, and look for another app that doesn’t do this to me. Perhaps this is the same EULA as before and I just hadn’t read it before? Well, if so, my opinions have changed.

Regards from SwitzerlandAlexander Schroeder

☯

As it turns out, they sent back a reply and linked to a (new?) Privacy Policy. I think it was well worded and looks totally like something I can keep using. Thanks!

☯

Hi there

We’re sorry about the impression you may have received based on the legal language of our EULA. It seems that the wording has caused some confusion and anxiety for many users. We are going to add more clarification to the EULA in the next update.

Section 2 of the EULA states , we “may collect and use technical data and related information, including but not limited to technical information about your device, system and application software, and peripherals—that is gathered periodically to facilitate the provision of software updates,”...etc.

We assure you that the only way we gather data is through voluntary submissions from GoodReader users via e-mail, which the user can choose not to send if they prefer not to. The EULA ensures we have your permission to use the data that you choose to send to us.

The GoodReader app does not, and cannot, automatically gather any information about you, your data, or the way you use GoodReader.

As stated: “Above all, we value your privacy: GoodReader’s commitment is to never monitor users or activity. We aim to be the most privacy focused iOS productivity tool in the market. We never ask for your personal information and there are no usernames or profiles. Use the tool at your leisure with ZERO monitoring.”

Please know that if you have data stored in GoodReader, accepting the EULA is not the only way to access that data. It is always possible to access data within an app without needing to open or launch the app by using Apple’s USB iTunes File Sharing technique described here: https://support.apple.com/HT201301

Comments

Please make sure you contribute only your own work, or work licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Note: in order to facilitate peer review and fight vandalism, we will store your IP number for a number of days. See Privacy Policy for more information. See Info for text formatting rules. You can edit the comment page if you need to fix typos. You can subscribe to new comments by email without leaving a comment.